It is well-known that golf clubs can be designed to suit the needs of a plurality of golfers, which span a broad range of skill levels. For example, golf club manufacturers have designed golf club heads for less skilled or practiced players to include, in some instances, a larger club face. Golf clubs that employ a relatively larger hitting area are often intended to minimize the unwanted effects of “miss-hits,” which are more prevalent among less practiced or skilled players. In addition, golf clubs designed for less practiced or skilled players often employ an “offset” club head—especially for the low to mid-irons. An “offset” club head provides more time during a swing to square the club head to the ball just before impact, which increases the possibility of a straight ball flight.
Optimizing golf clubs to accommodate the needs of various skill levels has not been restricted to club head design. Indeed, golf club designers and manufacturers have devoted a considerable amount of time, money and effort to optimizing golf club shafts as well. In particular, shafts have been designed in ways to address certain characteristics that are prevalent among golfers of high, medium and low skill levels.
Specifically, it has been found that less practiced or skilled players often exhibit a relatively slower swing speed when compared to more skilled players. It is also well-known that golfers having relatively slower swing speeds may benefit from a more flexible shaft, whereas golfers having relatively higher swing speeds, typically, may benefit from using more rigid shafts. Shaft flex is a measurement of the amount to which a shaft will bend under a certain load. When a player swings a golf club, the mass of the club head and the velocity of the swing cause the shaft to flex. Shaft flex can play an important role in the trajectory and distance that a ball travels, as well as the “feel” that a golfer experiences when swinging a club and striking a ball.
In addition, shaft flex can influence the amount of control that a golfer may have over the relative direction that a golf ball travels. Specifically, more rigid golf club shafts have been found to provide golfers with relatively higher swing speeds with a greater level of control over their golf shots. More flexible golf club shafts, however, may enable less practiced or skilled players, or players with relatively slower swing speeds, to increase the velocity of the golf club head at ball impact. An increase in club head velocity, of course, may enable such golfers to hit the ball a greater distance. In light of the foregoing, golf club designers and manufacturers have, generally, designed and offered golf clubs having shafts with greater flexibility for golfers with slower swing speeds and shafts with lesser flexibility for golfers having higher swing speeds and greater skill levels.
Another golf club design factor is the loft of the club head. The loft of a club is typically defined as the angle between the face of the golf club and the center line of the hosel. A set of golf clubs typically includes one or more “woods,” a set of irons, and wedges. The woods may include, for example, a driver (1-wood), 2-wood, 3-wood, 4-wood, 5-wood, 6-wood, 7-wood) or any combination thereof. Additionally, golf club manufacturers offer woods based upon the loft of the club, and do not always identify woods by numbers (e.g. 3-wood, 5-wood). Golf club irons often include 3 through 9 irons, and sometimes 1 and 2 irons. Wedges often include a pitching wedge, sand wedge, gap wedge and/or a lob wedge, and in recent years a variety of specialty wedges have been offered in the marketplace.
The loft of each wood, and the loft of each iron and wedge, typically, differ from one another in a set. For example, a driver always has a lower degree-loft than a 3-wood in a set of clubs, and a 3-wood will always have a lower degree-loft than a 5-wood in a set of clubs. Likewise, a 3-iron will always have a lower degree-loft than a 4-iron in a set of clubs, and a 4-iron will always have a lower degree-loft than a 5-iron in a set of clubs. The degree-loft affects the effective trajectory that can be imparted on a golf ball by the club. In general, the higher the loft of a club head, the higher the effective trajectory of the ball that has been struck by the club.
The different woods, irons, and wedges that comprise a set of clubs are designed to address a plurality of golf shots that may be needed or desired. Drivers, for example, are typically used to hit a golf ball as far as possible. Similarly, wedges are often used to hit a ball a short distance. For purposes of illustration only, the greater the degree of loft of a club, the lesser distance the ball will typically travel.
Until now, golf club designers have, typically, categorized shaft designs into two general categories: (i) shafts designed for drivers and/or woods; and (ii) shafts designed for irons and wedges. For years, golf club manufacturers have designed and specified shafts for drivers and woods to be, generally, more flexible when compared to iron and wedge shafts for the same set of clubs. As stated, the more flexible shafts may allow golfers to hit the ball further than would be possible with more rigid shafts, which is typically the purpose behind hitting a driver or wood.
Prior to the present invention, when golf club shafts were fitted for a particular golfer, regardless of the golfer's swing speed, one type of shaft (having a particular flexibility) was selected for the driver and woods, while a second type of shaft (having, most often, a lesser flexibility) was chosen for irons and wedges. This is consistent with the desire to employ greater shaft-flex in drivers and woods to hit the ball further. The additional variable of adding increased shaft-flex can also affect the accuracy of a golf club, depending of course upon the skill of the particular golfer.
The present invention teaches that optimal shaft flexibility cannot simply be divided into two general categories, i.e., one flexibility for drivers and woods, and a second for irons and wedges. In particular, the present invention teaches the entirely new and unique approach that each shaft used in a set of clubs may be optimized for each specific club by custom fitting the individual golfer for each club—depending upon the swing speed, skill level of the golfer, desired distance, and desired accuracy. Thus, each individual shaft in a set of golf clubs may each be individually custom fit and, further, the shafts will often represent a continuum of flexibilities. Still further, the present invention teaches that the nature of this continuum of flexibilities will, preferably, be different among golfers of low, medium and high skill levels and/or having slow, medium or high swing speeds.